Her mouth seems fine, she drinks, she purrs, normal behaviour except for obvious weakness due to lack of food. I don't think I'm explaining well exactly what this mouth motion looks like, as if she's got something on her tongue and is trying to get it off. One or two quick movements is all it is, and it's not a constant thing. Looks like I need to get her back to the local vet office for more tests. THanks so much for your advice today. :)

Have you checked to see if there is a low-cost spay/neuter clinic nearby? We have one locally and it's only for spay/neuter and required vaccines such as rabies. Also, local vets or petstores sponsor cheap vaccinations during certain times of the year. I'm in NC, not sure if this sort of pet-aid is a countrywide thing or just local.

We think she's about 10 or 11. She was fully grown when we adopted her from the local animal shelter and we've had her 9 years. The testing she had was all bloodwork, would that have covered a test for feline leukemia? I'm not sure what other signs might indicate cancer. No obvious growths or lumps. *When* she eats, her digestion seems to be working properly so no signs of blockage internally. The vet didn't feel anything when he massaged(?) her abdomen. I just offered her some food. She made the odd motion with her mouth again. I wish I were able to explain it more clearly. It's like a tic, she makes a clicking sort of swallow/lick and usually jerks her face a little to the left as she does it. She's doing this mostly when she's presented with food, whether she then goes on to actually eat the food or not. I want to add that what you are offering here, in answering our questions is absolutely invaluable. Thankyou! I just googled feline leukemia. We've had kitty 9 years and she's an only cat, strictly indoors. She has none of the other symtoms listed for FeLV aside from loss of appetite and consequent weight loss. Another thing though, when she *does* eat, it tends to be more liquidy food rather than solid. She did eat the ham I menioned before but that was a rare occurance. I've mostly only gotten her to eat when the food is smooth and watered to a thick gravy like consistency. We've also been using this same liquidy food mixture when forcing the food into her via a syringe. Are there better choices than babyfood for this? Should I add something else?

For ds13 7th grade Hits: Lightning Literature 7th - We're just finishing up and ds has loved the reading selections. Lial's Algebra - A very recent switch and it's going great so far! The Fallacy Detective - We have fun discussing the lessons and looking for fallacies on tv, etc. HG Wells - okay, so not a program, but ds has discovered HG Wells and we've been reading The Time Machine, and The War of the Worlds as our readalouds. Very engaging and thought provoking. Misses: MUS Algebra 1 - sadly this was not working for ds. He'd used MUS since beginning homeschooling in 3rd grade. Something about the Algebra text just did not connect with him though. I suspect each lesson was a chunk of information slightly too large for ds to grasp. We'll continue to use this as a review tool if/when necessary. Truthquest - Really wasn't our thing, and perhaps made worse to try jumping in with the last text of the series, geared to older students? It's been replaced by a hodge-podge of my own which is making for a patchy history study this year.

Dying cat? My cat won't eat. She's had bloodwork done that came back normal. Every few days I can temp her with a teaspoon or two of watered down babyfood (meat). She's also willingly eaten a small piece of deli-ham twice. This has been going on for weeks and she's basically bone and fur now, with no signs of pain. She's got some weird behaviour going on as well, like wanting to drink water from the bath and actually dozing (spacing out?) laying in the water. Also, a weird tongue/mouth thing which is similar to when she'd get some fur stuck on her tongue while grooming (she no longer grooms). Should I force-feed or not? If so, what? Dd and I have been doing a little force feeding but I just wonder if we're making her worse. I feel so guilty not doing more for her and not knowing what the problem is in the first place.

Thanks ever so much Abbey :)

LL7 has writing exercises that reinforce the literary concept of the chapter but it doesn't really offer writing instruction. My ds is using LL7 along with Jump In. I think any writing program you're comfortable with would work well. The way LL7 is set out there are many weeks with little to no writing at all, perfect for scheduling a chapter or two of Jump In :) HTH

I have sent a few emails to you recently but I don't think they're getting through. My ds is thoroughly enjoying the LP worksheets you shared with us recently. We absolutely want to keep on with the remaining weeks. Thanks!

Not large enough for a main meal but 'spinach eggs' make a nice lunch. Wilt some spinach with some minced onion in a saute pan ( I pulse up an entire onion in my food processor and freeze it in ice-cube trays. It's handy to toss one or two into a recipe as needed). When the spinach is fairly wilted add either a sprinkle of parmesan or some crumbles of feta cheese and stir it in. Make a well in the centre of the spinach and add an egg. Sprinkle with pepper, cover and cook until the egg is done.

Funny you should point out the similarity to "innit". My ds attends public high school and he's been saying "I know, right" a lot recently. I've pointed out to him how English it sounds (almost estuary english), and the similarities to "innit". If he drives me too nuts with it, I shall just say "UGH!" a whole lot in reply :)

I'm laughing here because I do the very same thing. Most of the fundraising stuff is awful or repeated so many times my eyes glaze over just knowing it's that time of year. Again. :)

What type of movies does he like? Perhaps you'll find some connection to a certain genre. My 13yo ds loves the Redwall series and is reading through the entire set. Together we just finished The Time Machine and ds loved it so much he went straight into reading War of the Worlds. They're fantastic books, short but exciting and well written. Kind of creepy in a "man searching himself and the possibilities.." type of way. My 15yo ds is reluctant to move away from the type of books he read as a tween. (Bartimeus Trilogy, Pendragon series, etc). Though he has had to read a few others for school (ps) and chosen one or two at home more recently, such as The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Count of Monte Cristo.

Karen, would you mind emailing me about the liver cleansing product? I've also got excema on my face that I believe is related to dairy intolerance.

Go to the dr. and have yourself checked. The dr. won't *make* you have surgery, but if you are having gallbladder problems, s/he will likely recommend it. You'll probably be sent for an ultrasound scan, it's not painful. The scan will show if there are stones or inflammation. You may also get some pain meds to help make you more comfortable while you decide if you want surgery or not. My dh and I have both had problems... dh had stones and did a cleanse which helped, I had an infected and 'sluggish' gallbladder and wasn't brave enough to try a cleanse. I took herbal supplements that helped me immensely. I recommend finding a local supplier, they're usually knowledgeable about the products. This is the brand I used.. http://www.naturessunshine.com/index.aspx My mother (63yrs old) just had her gallbladder removed two weeks ago. She was extremely apprehensive about the surgery and tried to avoid it for 3 months. She is now telling everyone how wonderfully simple it all went for her, how great she feels already, and she's personally thanked the surgeon for renewing her faith in hospitals :) Hope you're feeling better soon.

My mother was diagnosed with shingles last year but it turned out not to be shingles at all. She has "uticaria" which is basically a chronic case of hives. (She's having reactions to the histamine produced in her own body.)

Well right now it's the gaspingly high passport renewal fee I just discovered. I'm still in shock over seeing that high price. It is twice as expensive from the US than if I were renewing from the UK. More than three times the cost of a US passport. (Thank goodness for small mercies there because all my dc need new US passports as well). $265 for a passport? *AND* the outdated ridiculous hassle of having someone 'official' sign the passport pic. Oops, that seems to be a rather large gripe on my part doesn't it ;) As for your gripe about the grill. Good on ya! My dc behaved the same way with our cheapo waffle maker. I finally took it away and told them the reason. Didn't change *them* but it sure made that one thing easier for *me*! :D

Yes! Though my dd completely disagreed. Her exact response was "No way! Believe me, Momma. I *know* what Orlando Bloom looks like, and he does not look like Orlando. " Well hmph! ;)

I was curious after reading your question. I found this... http://www.jasa.net.au/study/whalan.htm ... the relevant portion being about halfway down the page. Interesting how things seem so acceptable for a long time and yet still change.

I don't know where my brain has been but I didn't even know there was an eclipse! My kids will probably want to watch it. Thanks for sharing the link.

Thanks for the offer Abbey. I've emailed you.

I think we may try using the books this way. We should be able to pick up the pace at first as we'd already worked through the first few lessons and I'd start by reworking them as review.

That sounds like a simple and effective way to tie the two books together. I like that I would not have to plan anything, just move forward as time allows and stop for review when necessary.

I've been too lax with my ds about latin and now I'd like to change that. Last year I had him start Latin Prep but after awhile it got pushed aside. Now I'm looking to start back with it... again :o , I thought I'd purchase the workbooks to aid us both. Okay, so now they've arrived... and the page numbers don't correspond to the book I have. No biggie, I can work that minor detail out. But my real problem comes in working with both the text and workbook. Can anyone help me by sharing how you schedule your lessons with both?

Thanks for the responses, it's working okay now. Not sure exactly why the poll stopped the actual blog loading for me... but just glad it's all working as it should once more. :)

Is MFS's blog no longer available? I haven't been there in awhile and just now when I tried I kept being bumped to some junk blogpoll site.